Last month I asked the question “Is anyone evangelical enough anymore” and called C.S. Lewis an honorary patron saint of evangelicals – or something. Some disagreed with this assessment on the grounds that Lewis was not evangelical.
Well, in the latest issue of the online magazine Heretic Press, there is a very interesting article on the subject by Mason Slater [here is his twitter].
“C.S. Lewis has long been beloved by evangelicals.
Like many other evangelicals I grew up hearing quotes from Lewis in sermons, reading his books, and being terrified by the beavers on the BBC version of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Christian bookstores happily stock entire shelves of Lewis’ books, and heavyweights like Tim Keller quote him more often than Augustine.
He has in many ways become, in the words of J.I. Packer, ‘the patron saint of evangelicalism’.
All this makes it highly ironic then that if Lewis were alive today your average evangelical would hardly claim him as one of their own.”
You can read the article starting on page 10. It is in magazine format. I know that this won’t interest everybody – but I grew up in a Christian Bookstore culture and C.S. Lewis continues to be a big deal in that camp.